The Fifth
by Violet Beatrice Baudelaire
Summary: So this oneshot with a different OC is inspired by In-between The Inbetweeners by the author Blue Bunny80, which summary goes as follows: The boys from "The Inbetweeners" are all grown-up. London and it's inhabitants have been almost destroyed by a plague. It's been three years. The guys have created an oasis. But, they're lonely. Jay has a brilliant idea...


The Fifth

 **A/N: So this oneshot is inspired by the fanfiction story, In-between The Inbetweeners by Blue Bunny80 on , which summary goes as follows:** **The boys from "The Inbetweeners" are all grown-up. London and it's inhabitants have been almost destroyed by a plague. It's been three years. The guys have created an oasis. But, they're lonely. Jay has a brilliant idea...** **I always enjoyed reading it, but it has not been updated in years. In the original fanfiction the OC only got to meet Neil and not the others and I always wondered what would happen when she met the others and they told her about Jay's plan. So I wrote this oneshot, using a different OC but with inspiration from the original fanfiction. Really, everyone should go** **read the original fanfiction** **because it is amazing! This is simply my own poor substitute in place of a continuation but I just had so many feels for that fanfiction and I had to write something so this happened.**

"Wow, thank you Neil," I threw my arms around him and hugged him quickly. "This is just what we need, some meat. I knew those traps you made under Will's supervision would work out." I glanced at the skinned, gutted rabbit lying on a wooden chopping block in our large kitchen. It was sad, to think we were so excited about eating rabbit but with the way the world was now we had no choice.

"It's alright, Cassie. Do you need...help cooking?" Neil asked, pulling a face. "I hope not, because you know I'm a shit cook. And I want to go take a shower then watch a DVD or something. Scavenging can be a bit tiring..."

I laughed. "No, Neil, it's fine. Go and relax, dinner won't be ready for a few hours yet." I replied, and smiled as he practically ran out of the kitchen. I first dealt with the rabbit, salvaging as much meat as I could before cutting the meat into smaller sections. I peeled and chopped up some onions, potatoes and carrots taken from the vegetable patch in the back garden, throwing it in a large saucepan with some hot water, a few squeezes of stale tomato paste and a little flour. I added the meat then some salt, pepper and dried Italian seasoning mix. It was not quite what I would have liked to put in a stew, but it was the best I could do with the ingredients we had available to us. And we were extremely fortunate to have the stock of supplies we had, to eat so well when there were poor souls who had gotten so desperate they would kill themselves rather than starve. After a while, as I stirred the stew which was simmering away on the hob, it looked much better than it had before. The smell drifting off of it was quite nice. Once it was done, I planned to serve it with some homemade bread. My bread was not the worst in the world, but I knew it was not that good and everyone was tired of having to eat it dry. At least now we could dunk it into the stew, it would make it taste better.

When the stew was finally ready, Will and Simon came to help me carry the food to the dining room. Neil and Jay had already set the table, and they were sitting there waiting for us. After we were all settled, I raised my glass which was half filled with red wine. "I would just like us to raise a toast to Neil, we wouldn't be having rabbit stew tonight if not for all his hard work. Cheers to Neil!" I clinked my glass with Simon and Will, who both had beers and replied back with a 'Cheers to Neil' but Jay scowled at me and refused to raise his bottle of beer.

Neil looked confused, "What do you mean? Are we gonna have some toast?" He gazed suspiciously at the bowl filled with bread chunks. "That bread don't look toasted to me."

"For goodness sakes, Neil!" Will exclaimed. "What Cassandra was trying to say is that you did a good job with your hunting, and we all appreciate it. Don't we, Jay?"

Jay shrugged, crossing his arms. "Yeah, I guess. I'm hungry, can we just bloody start eating now."

An awkward silence fell over the table. Jay was often moody, but strangely it was just when I was around. Ever since he and the other guys had met me, when they all saved me from an attacker, he had disliked me. I stood up to ladle out the stew into everyone's bowls, giving all the guys a bit more meat in their bowls than in my own. I didn't eat as much as the guys did, so it would just have been wasted on me. I liked the stew, and the bread went well with it. I was pleased when Neil's bowl was empty and he went for seconds although Neil was not a fussy eater. Simon gave me a thumbs up, which was his sign of approval. Will gave me a compliment on my cooking, but he always said something nice about my food even when it tasted awful. However, today I knew the stew was good, so I was happy they had enjoyed the food. Jay said nothing, he just stacked all the dirty bowls with the cutlery on top and disappeared off to the kitchen.

I grabbed my glass and hurried to catch up with him, ignoring the glance Simon exchanged with Will. I knew they would have told me it was a bad idea, but I just wanted to talk to Jay. When I got to the kitchen, I saw him washing the bowls in one of the sinks.

"I thought you hated washing up..." I remarked as I walked over to where he stood. "Could you wash my glass too, please?"

"Yeah, just stick it in the sink," Jay replied, not even bothering to look at me as he rinsed a bowl.

I put the glass in the sink, then I attempted to put my hand on Jay's but he quickly pulled his hand away and glared at me. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"I just..." I sighed, "Why do you hate me so much?"

"I don't hate you. I just don't care about you like my muppet friends do." He snapped, grabbing my glass and wiping it with a soapy sponge before rinsing it. "I'm going off to my room. Don't follow me," He pushed past me as he stormed out of the kitchen. I owed Jay my life, he had killed a man to protect me and yet according to him I meant nothing to him. It just did not make sense. I felt bad as Jay would never have gotten blood on his hands if not for me. Yet if he and the others had not come to my rescue, I would most likely be dead by now.

"Cassie?"

I turned, hearing Simon calling my name. I had been with the guys long enough to be familiar with their voices. Besides, it was only Simon and Neil who called me Cassie. Will always insisted on using my full name, and Jay never called me anything. "Yes, Simon. What's up?"

"We need to talk. Have, um..." He paused, looking uncomfortable as he rubbed the back of his neck. "A group meeting. Will and Neil are waiting in the lounge for us."

"This is about Jay, isn't it?" I asked, as I fell into step besides him. "I didn't mean to get him all riled up like that..."

Simon looked at me then, and shook his head slowly. "No, it's not about Jay. It's better if you hear this from Will."

I paused outside the entrance to the guest lounge which we had made into our sitting room. "What is it, Simon?"

"Shit, I...really can't say." Simon smiled at me, but it seemed forced. He rested his hand on the small of my back and lightly pushed me forward. ""Let's just go in, yeah?"

I was getting worried now, and it did not help matters when I walked into the lounge to see Will and Neil sitting down on one of the three seater couches. Someone had pulled an armchair to stand a few feet away from the couch they were sitting on. It looked a bit like a bizarre interview panel but with no desk. Neil would usually be slouched in his seat, his arms spread out over the back of the couch but today he was just sitting there stiffly, his hands by his sides and a serious expression on his face. Will was sitting down in quite a rigid pose as well, but then Will liked to sit with a straight posture so it was not unusual for him. Simon sat down next to Will, and he seemed uneasy.

Will beckoned me closer, looking solemn. "Will you sit down? There's something important we need to discuss with you."

I sat down in the armchair, looking from Neil, to Will, to Simon as I uselessly tried to decipher what they were thinking. I was terrible at reading faces, and they were giving nothing away. "What's the matter? Did I do something wrong?"

"Well, you've been with us a few months now. Is it safe to say you like us all? Even Jay, despite him acting like a total arsehole to you?" Will asked.

"Yes, of course. You all saved me and you've taken care of me, befriended me, made me feel like I finally belong somewhere. I love you guys. You're all my best friends."

"Oh...right." Will seemed disappointed. "So you love us, but only in a friendly way?"

"What's this all about, Will?" I asked, uncomfortable with the way the conversation was heading. With the way the world was now, romance had been the last thing on my mind for a long time, I simply had to put all my energy into surviving. We were all just friends, they were all respectful of my personal space. At first I had been wary of them, but as time went on and I realized they were not going to hurt me, I started to hug them and we had all shared some innocent touches. Well, with the exception of Jay. He would never let me close enough for us to share the same sort of close friendship I had with the others. Now I was more relaxed, that I felt safe again, I had noticed them in ways I knew I should _not_ be noticing them. I was attracted to them all, despite the fact they were so different in looks and personalities. I especially liked Jay, which was stupid as he seemed to hate me. Up until now none of the guys had shown any signs of wanting more than friendship. The world's entire population had been reduced heavily by the plague, and a lot of the ones who remained had turned insane or were sick. Me finding the guys and us all being healthy and sane was pretty much a miracle. I did not want to ruin my closeness to them.

"We didn't think we'd meet a girl out there again. Not after the last one..." A look of sadness crossed Simon's face. "You don't know this, but there was another girl here before you. Neil found her, she was really ill and we tried our best to make her better. We stayed by her bedside for days but then she died and it was horrible." Simon buried his face in his hands, and it seemed like he was trying to hide tears.

Will put a hand on Simon's shoulder, looking concerned for his friend. "It's alright, Si. At least we know she's not in pain anymore."

"She was beautiful. We all really liked her. We hoped she'd be our girlfriend one day," Neil sighed, a glum expression taking over his usually cheerful face. "We were so fed up of being alone. I mean, we had each other but having mates, like...It's not the same as having a girlfriend."

I got up from my chair and went over to hug Simon, holding him tightly and gently rubbing his back until he had composed himself again. Then I pulled away and sat back down in the armchair. "Guys...I'm so sorry that happened to you. I'm glad she wasn't alone at the end, that she had you guys there to be by her side." We all knew the pain of losing people, but just because we were used to it did not make it hurt any less each time it happened. "But...I don't understand something that Neil said. You wanted her to be your girlfriend? How could she be a girlfriend to _all_ of you?"

"We decided we would wait until she got better than ask if we could all share her as a girlfriend. It was the logical decision, since we knew that finding her was nothing short of a miracle and it was highly unlikely we would all be able to find a girlfriend." Will explained. "I know it sounds crazy, but we really put a lot of thought into that decision. Well, not Neil so much but he still understood and he agreed with us."

I was silent for a few moments. It was a lot of new information to take in. "So I'm a replacement for the girl that died?"

"No!" Simon exclaimed. "Don't think like that, Cassie. We all like you a lot, and that's not just because we think you're pretty but because we were able to get to know you. We never really knew the girl that died. She was still practically a stranger. We were all so upset after she died that we thought about going our separate ways. But Jay, he convinced us to stay together. He told us we would find another girl, that things would be different. And...then you came along."

"Jay doesn't like me, though. Sometimes I think he wishes he never saved me."

"Nah, he likes you just as much as we do," Neil stated firmly. "Even if he won't admit it. I found that photo of you in his room. The one with you and your mum."

"I was so upset when I thought I lost that photo. But he probably took it to hurt me. Not because he likes me. Anyway, I can't do this," I stood up from the armchair. "I can't be a girlfriend to all of you, and it wouldn't be fair to only date one of you."

"I told you she wasn't ready to hear all this," Simon frowned at Will. "If we had just waited a bit longer-"

"I was tired of waiting," Will interrupted Simon, glaring at him. Then his face softened as he stood up and walked over to me. "Listen to me, Cassandra. We like you very much and you like us - At least as friends, correct? I want to know if you are attracted to any of us? It's alright if you don't like me, but if you like the others then I can step back. Just think, without me and without Jay – since he wouldn't agree with our plan to date you, you would only be dating Simon and Neil."

"Will..." I hated the resigned look in his eyes, like he was used to being told he was not liked by girls. "You're _very_ attractive to me... You all are. That's not the problem here."

"Then what's the problem?" Simon asked. "We can figure out a way to make this work for everyone. If you just give us a chance...Try it for...I don't know...A month? And then if it doesn't work out, we can go back to the way it was before. Please, Cassie?"

Simon was giving me the look, staring at me with wide eyes and a pout on his face. I hated that look, because it always made me feel bad when I said no about something. "I don't know...It's just a lot for me to handle..." I sighed. "I'm not sure..."

"If you're worried about getting intimate, that's not what we want this to be about." Will stated firmly. "What's most important is for us to all build a secure, loving relationship with you."

"Although we do want to shag you at some point," Neil piped up, with a cheeky smile, and then shrugged when Will and Simon scowled at him. "What? We do."

"Neil, shut the fuck up," Simon punched his arm lightly. "Now's not the time to talk about that."

"Cassandra, ignore Neil. He can't help saying stupid things. Although, it is true that sex is a part of a healthy relationship between consenting adults, but obviously we're not there yet. Nothing has to happen, unless you decide that's what you want," Will walked over to a side table, and picked up an A4-sized notepad before bringing it over to me. He opened it, and I saw pages of his neat handwriting. "Look, I drew up a contract. It's quite informal but it basically sets out some ground rules for us to follow. Please just sit back down and read it, then you can decide if you want to go through with it. If you don't want to then we won't talk about it again. We don't want to pressure you into doing anything you're not comfortable with. We really like you, and we just want you to be happy even if it means just being friends."

I sat down in the armchair, with the notepad in my hands. Will hovered over me as I read it, and it was actually very interesting. It was not just his thoughts, but he had included ideas from the other guys. The ground rules he had talked about were mostly for my benefit. He even had a little timetable drawn up for night times, where I would spend two nights a week with each of them and then alternate the one free night with each of them every week. Jay's name was nowhere to be seen anywhere, but that did not surprise me although it did hurt. On the very end page, I saw the contract had been signed by Will, Neil and Simon. I looked up at Will, who was watching me with an anxious expression. "I'm sorry, I can't sign this."

Will's face fell, and I could see he was upset. He went to sit back down on the couch. Simon smiled wanly at me, but it did not reach his eyes. "It's alright, Cassie. We understand." Neil's face showed how disappointed he was, but like Will he was not trying to hide how he felt.

I stood up from the armchair and walked over to where they sat on the couch. "We don't need this," I smiled at them brightly as I pulled out the pages of the contract from the notepad then tore them up into little pieces, letting them drop onto the carpet. "Because...I can't be in a relationship with you all, based on a contract." I handed Will the notepad. "We can keep the timetable, that was a great idea."

"So just to clarify this for us, you're not saying no, then?" Will asked, smiling up at me. "You're going be with us?"

"Yes, Will," I leant down and embraced him, kissing him on the cheek before I pulled away and stood back up.

"What about me?" Neil stood up, looking indignant. "Am I gonna get a hug and a kiss too?"

"No, Neil. You don't deserve it," I laughed at the face he pulled when I said no, like I had just kicked a puppy. "I'm only joking," I wrapped my arms around him and leant up to press a kiss near his mouth before letting him go. "How about you, Simon?"

Simon stood up and walked over to me, embracing me before I kissed him on the cheek. When I went to pull away he kissed my lips briefly before letting me go. "Sorry, I've just wanted to kiss you for such a long time."

"No, it's alright. I like you Simon, I like all of you a lot, but I'm not ready for anything more than kissing. I mean, I will share your bedrooms, but just to sleep." I stated firmly. "Of course, I'm not saying that won't change in the future but I need some time before we can get to that stage."

"She's a virgin!" Neil exclaimed, looking excited. "I call shotgun, you guys."

Will slapped Neil across the back of his head. "You idiot, Neil. You can't call shotgun on Cassandra's virginity. Besides, you don't know that she's a virgin."

I felt embarrassed, feeling a hot flush creep onto my face. Neil was right, I had never slept with anyone before. If I had to choose from the guys, as to who I would share my first time with it would be Jay. But I knew it would never happen. "I don't want to talk about it. And I'm leaving now. I'll see you all later." I quickly left as I could see Will preparing to protest my leaving. However, I did not get far outside of the living room when I ran straight into Jay. He grabbed hold of me as I was about to fall back, but once he saw I was steady on my feet again he dropped his hold on me. I was surprised to see him there. "Jay? Were you there for long?"

He shrugged. "So what if I was?"

"Nothing, Jay. It's not a problem, I just..." I sighed heavily. "Forget it. Can you just give me back my photo?"

Jay's face hardened. "What are you talking about? I don't have your photo, why the fuck would I want it?"

"I want my photo back, Jay. I know you have it, Neil told me you did."

Jay walked away from me, and I stormed after him and shoved him, angry that he was ignoring me. "Give it back, Jay. I mean it. Hate me, think I'm ugly, mess with my stuff, I don't care but you can't have that photo."

Jay turned back around to face me, and gave me a cold smirk. "Nobody can have it anymore, I burnt it."

"You're lying, even you couldn't be so cruel. You know how much that photo means to me." I bit my lip, on the verge of crying but I tried my best to repress it. It would be just what he wanted. "I've tried so hard to make you like me, but it was all a waste of time." I walked past him, but he stopped me by stepping into my path. "Move, Jay. Before I do something I regret."

"You're not gonna cry, are you?" Jay seemed uncomfortable, watching me with a wary expression. "Look, I didn't burn the photo. I have it in my room." He confessed.

"What did I do to you, Jay?" I asked, my tears finally spilling over. "What did I do that made you hate me so much?"

"I told you before, I don't hate you," Jay took a deep breath. "I just wanted you to hate me. I thought it would be easier that way. Easier for you."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't cry," Jay reached out and wiped my tears away with his hands. "I stabbed a guy to death in front of you. I can't even remember how many times I put the knife into him. I was just in a rage and I remember my mates having to pull me off him. And it was...We've never really had to defend ourselves like that, we're so secluded here. The thing was, after it happened, it messed me up. I started having nightmares about killing him, and you were always there too. You were always so afraid of me. And I felt so guilty."

"Oh, Jay...You should have told us you were having nightmares. And I've never been afraid of you. I admire you so much, Jay. You were so brave, and you saved my life." I wrapped my arms around him, holding him tightly. I felt him stiffen at first, but then he slowly relaxed and put his arms around me too. We stayed like that for a few minutes, and it was nice. I really felt like things were starting to change between us. Jay moved back, and then he leaned down like he was going to kiss me but then he stepped back, to my disappointment.

He stared at me intently. "I'm sorry, Cass. For being so mean to you all these months when all you've done is look out for me and worry about me."

"It's alright, Jay," I smiled at him warmly. It was the first time I had heard him say my name in a long time, and it felt good. "I forgive you. Do you want to be friends?"

"Yeah, but I'd like you to my girlfriend as well. I mean, it was my idea after all. And, you won't have as much fun dating those twats."

Simon, Neil and Will came out of the living room, all looking mildly annoyed. "You're the only twat here, Jay," Will snapped. "And now I'll have to write a whole new timetable for night-times, thanks for that."

Jay started to argue with Will, and Simon tried to intervene while Neil just stood there an amused smile on his face. I held hands with Neil, leaning against him and just watching the others. They argued so often I had found out it was easier to just let them argue until they got tired of it. Although things had changed for us, there were some things would never change. None of us were perfect, but we all cared about each other. The friendship I shared with the guys was still intact, but hopefully it would evolve into love one day. I had never really felt I belonged anywhere, even before the world was stricken with the plague. Now, I felt like I belonged here, and it was all because of Will, Simon, Neil and Jay. Meeting them had changed my entire life, and I was really happy. We would continue to survive together, and even though there would be hardships sometimes it did not matter as long as we all had each other.

 **Thanks for reading :)**


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